The establishment of the Cultural Propaganda Department means that Zhao Yan has transformed cultural communication into a professional act, and at the same time, in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, there are many places where people do not speak official dialect at all, and many people speak local Chinese.

In this era, people in some places could not even understand the official language, but Chinese characters solved the communication problem to a certain extent, as long as you could write a word, you could know what the other party was saying, and at the same time, most of the social elites could speak the official language.

In this stage of cultural disunity and national consciousness has not yet been formed, people's local concepts are very strong, such as the 'township party' organizations are almost everywhere, such as Zhao Yan and those Shandong businessmen, which can be regarded as a kind of township party relationship. Zheng Zhilong also came to pull relations not long ago, and he also used the name of the township party.

Therefore, the Ministry of Culture and Propaganda must be set up not only in overseas colonies, but also in the country, and as for the cultural diversity of surnames, it is not a good thing for a country.

The most important thing is to form a national consciousness as soon as possible, but there is no national consciousness in Europe at the moment, and if you ask a person who he is, he will probably answer that he is a Catholic, or that he is a Protestant, or that he is from such and such a family.

Historically, China has formed a national consciousness, the Han people appeared in the Han Dynasty, and it has continued to this era, but after wars and other factors, the national consciousness has been weakened a lot in this era, and there is no widespread sense of identity, while Westerners did not form a national consciousness until the seventeenth century.

At this time, the mission that went to Fujian to negotiate with Zheng Zhilong was signing an agreement with Zheng Zhilong. In early January, Zheng Zhilong met with the Shandong delegation immediately after their visit.

After Zheng Zhilong read the letter written by Zhao Yan to him, he was a little relieved to see that Zhao Yan also conveyed his intention to cooperate in the letter, but in terms of import and export taxes, Zheng Zhilong was not willing to open his port to let Shandong merchant ships come in, and at the same time, he also did not want Fujian merchant ships to go to Shandong.

Shandong's geographical location in maritime trade is far less favorable than Fujian's, and in Zheng Zhilong's view, this cooperation agreement is very unfavorable to him.

At the same time, the mission urged Zheng Zhilong to hand over the shipwright in his hand, but Zheng Zhilong only held the idea of dragging and kept silent, and the negotiations between the two sides soon reached a deadlock.

From January to February, nothing tangible came out for a whole month. In February, the situation in Liaodong changed abruptly, and the Shandong army entered Liaodong, killed Haoge and Daishan, and captured Dolgon, and the news reached Fujian at the end of March, which shook the Zheng group.

Jianlu, that is the most powerful foreign enemy of the contemporary Ming Dynasty, all the officers and troops have been defeated by Jianlu, and the most elite ace Guan Ning army is also defeated nine times out of ten.

However, as soon as Zhao Yan came out, he overthrew two Jianyu princes, and even captured one alive, which had to be impressive.

"Everyone says that this Zhao Yan ranks first in all the officers and soldiers, whether it is financial resources or military strength, he is far superior to others. In the past, the official still didn't believe that this battle in Liaodong was really worthy of its reputation. Zheng Zhilong sighed after reading the news from Shandong.

At this moment, ten frigates led by Wen Bangliang arrived in Hayden from Qingdao and asked to enter Hayden for supplies.

Wen Bangliang walked to Haideng, and when he set foot on the most prosperous port in the south again, he couldn't help but think of Yan Siqi, the leader of the Great Alliance.

It's just that everything has disappeared, the leader of the alliance has died of illness, and Zheng Yiguan, who became the new leader of the alliance, has become a guerrilla in Fujian's coastal defense, and now he has become the general army of Fujian.

And he is now Denglai Haiphong Dao and has become a Taoist.

Wen Bangliang did not enter Hayden for supplies, the supply of the fleet was very sufficient, but the negotiations on the Fujian side had not yet reached a result, so he came to Hairden to visit Zheng Zhilong at the behest of Zhao Yan.

When Wen Bangliang arrived at Hayden, he immediately set off for the market. The market is very close to Hayden, and Wen Bangliang arrived at the market the next day, and then handed the name card to the Zheng family's mansion.

"Master, Denglai Haiphong Dao Wen Bangliang will meet you." In the Zheng family's mansion, the subordinate handed the name card to Zheng Zhilong.

"Tenglai Haiphong Road...... Wen Bangliang? Zheng Zhilong suddenly felt that this name was a little familiar, and vaguely remembered that the strategist next to the leader of the Great Alliance back then was also named Wen Bangliang.

Back then, it was this person who instructed Yan Siqi to reclaim the east after Yan Siqi failed to raise troops.

But that Wen Bangliang is just a down-and-out talent, where can he become Denglai's coastal defense road? It must be someone with the same name and surname.

"Please." Zheng Zhilong hurriedly instructed that Zheng Zhilong, who was living a more comfortable life, was becoming more and more sensitive to the characters in the official face.

The person who came this time is not only a Taoist, but also from Denglai, since he is from Denglai, he must be Zhao Yan's person, Zhao Yan can be described as a single-handed existence in Denglai, Shandong.

Wen Bangliang, who had been waiting outside the Zheng Mansion for a while, walked into this rich Zheng family mansion under the leadership of the Zheng family's slaves.

Soon came to the guest hall, Zheng Zhilong was already waiting there, Wen Bangliang, who walked into the guest hall, swept Zheng Zhilong who was sitting there, compared to the young and vigorous Zheng Yiguan many years ago, but he was much blessed.

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be taken aback when he saw Wen Bangliang, seeing that Wen Bangliang was speechless for a while, Wen Bangliang arched his hand and said with a smile: "Don't come to the official unharmed?" ”

There are not many deceased people who dare to call him by his name in these years, but this Wen Bangliang is from Denglai, and he is qualified to call Zheng Zhilong like that.

"National ...... Brother Guoxing? Zheng Yiguan was taken aback for a while before squeezing out a few words, he almost couldn't remember Wen Bangliang's words. Zheng Zhilong, who came back to his senses, said to Wen Bangliang enthusiastically: "Brother Guoxing, sit down, come here, serve tea." ”

"Thank you." Wen Bangliang sat down, and at this time, the subordinates also brought the tea, and Zheng Zhilong asked suspiciously: "When did Brother Guoxing win the Jinshi?" How did it become the Denglai coastal defense road. ”

"What kind of jinshi, the first official laughed, for my brother, this is just a false position given by the general." Wen Bangliang shook his head with a smile, his voice was very high between his words, and he actually called himself his brother, which made Zheng Zhilong's expression a little unhappy, but Wen Bangliang's identity at this moment is different from back then, and there is more Zhao Yan behind him, but it is not an ant who is trampled to death.

Zheng Zhilong is not a person who is happy and angry, although he is uncomfortable, he still smiles: "Back then, my brother's alliance dominated the Southeast China Sea, and many of them were the credit of Brother Guoxing!" Brother Guoxing is the dragon and phoenix among people, a blockbuster! ”

"Brotherhood! That was many years ago, and now the dead are dead, and they are exterminated by a single official, and looking around the north and south seas, there are only two left, an official and a brother. Wen Bangliang said with a sigh.

"It's not that the virtuous brothers don't abide by morality, but they don't want to be loyal to the court, and they also intend to harass our Ming people. The virtuous brother should be exterminated for the court and the people. Zheng Zhilong said solemnly.

"What an official said is extremely true, as an official of the imperial court, we are seeking government from our position. The general also said that if the bandits are not exterminated in time, they will surely harm the people and even shake the safety of the society. Wen Bangliang smiled, Zheng Zhilong's expression suddenly eased a lot, and asked Wen Bangliang: "I don't know if Brother Guoxing has anything to do when he comes to the younger brother's mansion?" ”

"The general ordered me to go to Nanyang to plunder the merchant ships of the Hongyi people, and my general, as a Ming courtier, naturally will not loot the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, so let me come to the market to say hello, so as not to have any misunderstandings at sea." Wen Bangliang said lightly, Zheng Zhilong groaned for a while, and all kinds of thoughts quickly flashed in his heart, and then said: "Hehe! The general is really a careful person. ”

"Besides, the general was attacking the city in Liaodong at this time, and he didn't have much time to take care of the affairs of the sea, and when he came to his senses, there was no news from my Shandong mission in Fujian for two months, so he sent me to ask the shipwright and the city shipwright." Wen Bangliang continued.

"This ......" Zheng Zhilong muttered, not replying.

"The general told me a story when he came for my brother, I wonder if the official would be interested in hearing it?" Wen Bangliang said suddenly at this time.

"What the general said, the official naturally listened to it." Zheng Zhilong coped with it on the surface, but in his heart he thought of a way to continue to delay the shipwright's matter, and stopped at the opening of the port between the two sides, and didn't even think about it.

"Once upon a time, there were two tigers, they were brothers, each occupied a territory, always on guard against the other party's invasion of their territory, but they turned a blind eye to the prey-ridden world outside, and in the end they lost both. There were also two lions, who were also brothers, and they were driven out by the lions when they grew up, but they united and in a few moments defeated the leader of a large lion pack, and the two brothers became the leaders and ruled the prosperous hunting grounds. Wen Bangliang told a simple story, Zheng Zhilong pondered for a moment after listening to it, and sighed: "How can others be allowed to snore on the side of the couch, even if I am willing, the general is probably not willing?" ”

"Since the official has made it clear, he won't hide it for his brother." Wen Bangliang changed his euphemistic attitude and said directly: "The general once said that as a courtier, he should listen to the orders of the imperial court, Shandong and Fujian are all under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and it is a legitimate move for my Shandong merchant ships to come to Fujian, and the same is true for Fujian merchant ships to Shandong." If anyone violates the law of the court, my general will wave his troops to fight. ”

"If the general comes, an official should be waiting for him." Zheng Zhilong's face was gloomy, and his heart was full of anger, but he still restrained himself and did not break out.

"Even so, there is nothing else to say for a brother." Wen Bangliang got up and said, "Farewell." ”

Wen Bangliang turned around and left, Zheng Yiguan's face was gloomy, and when Wen Bangliang left, he angrily threw a Tang Dynasty vase on the ground, and smashed it with a bang.

"He, Zhao Yan, is something, but he is just a junior, he has only been at sea for a few years, and he dares to point fingers at me, which is really hateful. That Wen Bangliang is not a thing, he was just a sour talent back then, and today he dares to fake a tiger in front of me. Zheng Zhilong roared, and the people in the mansion were so frightened that they walked and spoke a little lightly.

After Zheng Zhilong's anger calmed down, he felt inappropriate in his heart, and hurriedly asked people to summon Zheng Cai.

When Zheng Cai arrived at Shijing, Zheng Zhilong said something about it, only to see Zheng Cai ponder for a moment and said: "Big brother, don't worry, this Zhao Yan is just a stunned young man, at this time, he is still fighting with Jianyu in Liaodong, so he dares to provoke us." If the younger brother is not bad, even if Zhao Yan wins in Liaodong, he will arouse the emperor's suspicion, and the emperor will inevitably find ways to deal with him at that time, and as long as the eldest brother cooperates, he will have no excuse to attack Fujian? ”

"Excuses?" Zheng Zhilong asked puzzledly, "What does this have to do with the excuse?" ”

"Big brother, you think, if he Zhao Yan wants to attack our Fujian, he must need an excuse, otherwise it will be a rebellion, and it will attract people from all over the world to attack him. The excuse he relied on could not be the shipwrights of the imperial court or the opening of ports. As long as the emperor was suspicious of him, the matter of the shipwright was only a matter that the emperor could solve with a word. As for the opening of ports, the sea ban in the provinces of our Ming Dynasty has not been opened, and by virtue of this, he has no reason to use force, and he cannot send troops to attack Fujian by land. Zheng Cai explained.

"So, he's scaring us?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Naturally, but this Zhao Yan also thinks that we are too simple, big brother, when you are working hard at sea, he is still breastfeeding! How could he be frightened with a word? Zheng Cai snorted coldly, "As long as the army cannot be entered by land, with our 100,000 naval army, how can he be shaken." ”

Zheng Zhilong felt very reasonable after hearing this, and then suddenly asked, "How is the preparation for the cannon?" ”

"The younger brother has sent someone to find the Furlong man, and the Furlong man promised to help us make the Red Cannon and at the same time send someone to help me train the artillery." Zheng Cai said confidently: "Although his Zhao Yan's cannon is very sharp, it is definitely not much better than the Hongyi cannon, as long as our naval army is equipped with this cannon, it will definitely win the battle." ”

"Hmm!" Zheng Zhilong nodded with satisfaction, since he felt the threat from Denglai, Zheng Zhilong had already begun to order the shipyard to step up the construction of fifty Western ships, and asked Zheng Cai to send someone to the Portuguese for help.

Portugal is a Catholic country, and they are not allowed to trade in this country, so most of the Portuguese goods are transshipped by Zheng Zhilong, and in the process, the two sides have a good friendship.

Zheng Zhilong is not old at this time after all, although he is a little greedy for comfort, but he is not so easy to give in. In all respects, he has more maritime resources at his disposal than Zhao Yan.

The most obvious advantage is shipbuilding, Fujian has the most advanced shipbuilding technology and the most prosperous shipbuilding foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and there are no less than 70,000 shipwrights in shipyards around the country, as long as there is enough silver, it can build a powerful fleet in a short time.

In terms of silver, Zheng Zhilong naturally has no shortage of money, and there is no shortage of technology, the shipbuilding technology of the East is not worse than that of the West in some places, and where there is a gap, the gap is not too big, not to mention that with the help of the Portuguese, the technology of building Western warships is not a problem at all.

Therefore, the plan to build 50 large Western ships was directly launched, and as long as the fleet was formed, the number of five or six large Western ships of the Shandong Navy could be piled up.

At the same time, if he started a war with Zhao Yan at sea, he could completely connect with Hongyi and Franco, and at most give up some benefits.

By all accounts, it is completely impossible to be overwhelmed by Shandong at sea.

The problem on the land route has always been a hidden worry in Zheng Zhilong's heart, but when Zheng Cai said that, it was really like that, as long as he took advantage of the court, Zhao Yan would not be able to do it by land.

In this way, Zhao Yan is just a paper tiger, and there is no need to be afraid of him at all.

"Master, just now there is news from Fuzhou that Xiong Junmen has entered the governor of the five provinces, and it is estimated that he will leave for his post in a while." At this time, the subordinate suddenly came to report.

"Why did Xiong Wencan suddenly become the governor of the five provinces?" Zheng Zhilong didn't turn around for a while, and Zheng Cai said at this time: "Big brother, this is a good thing!" That guy usually said that he received a lot of benefits from us, he became the governor of the five provinces, and he will have weight in the court in the future, and the eldest brother will have an extra reinforcement above the court. ”

"Hmmm! Not bad. Zheng Zhilong nodded and said to his subordinates: "Prepare the car immediately, and go to Fuzhou to celebrate in a while." ”

…… A few months ago, a eunuch beside Chongzhen came to Fujian, Xiong Wencan is well versed in the key to promotion in officialdom, so he naturally prepares good wine and food, and presents rare treasures. As the governor of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong sent him any overseas curiosities, and he naturally had plenty of money on hand, so he served the eunuch very comfortably.

During the banquet, the eunuch talked about the thief, Xiong Wencan casually blew a few words to the eunuch sent by Chongzhen, but he didn't think about it, the eunuch returned to the capital and said a few good words to Chongzhen to Xiong Wencan, saying that Xiong Wencan was good at soothing him, and if he was sent to appease the thief, it would definitely be able to do something.

Chongzhen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked Yang Sichang to discuss, Yang Sichang naturally saw what Chongzhen meant, so he also promoted Xiong Wencan.

In this way, Xiong Wencan became the governor of the five provinces.

However, Xiong Wencan thought of facing the thieves, and it was better to lose the Fujian governor who was sitting comfortably, and his intestines suddenly became moldy, and others rushed to celebrate, but Xiong Wencan was not in the mood at all.

When Zheng Zhilong arrived in Fuzhou, Xiong Wencan faced this big financier, but he was met with a strong spirit. Zheng Zhilong saw that Xiong Wencan's face was embarrassed, and he didn't seem to be happy, so he couldn't help but ask in surprise: "The military lord should be happy when he enters the governor of the five provinces, why is he depressed?" ”

"How can the governor of these five provinces be so easy to be, Lord Ben has no soldiers in his hands, I'm afraid ...... this time" Xiong Wencan was not optimistic in his heart, but he was not as desperate as he said, he just felt that the governor of the five provinces was not easy to be.

"If Lord Junmen is worried about this, then there is no need. There are some soldiers and horses in the hands of the subordinates, and the adults can take some to the Central Plains, and the money and food required are all from the subordinates. Zheng Zhilong said at this time.

"Is Feihuang true?" Xiong Wencan's eyes lit up, and he looked at Zheng Zhilong and asked.

"Seriously." Zheng Zhilong nodded solemnly and said, if it weren't for Zhao Yan's potential threat, Zheng Zhilong would not have been able to bird Xiong Wencan, who was transferred out of Fujian.

However, in order to be able to overpower Zhao Yan in the court, Zheng Zhilong didn't mind giving some money, anyway, what his family had was gold, silver and jewelry.

(To be continued)